


Just Can't Get You Off My Mind

by DossierArchangel



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: College AU, Day One, F/F, So you get half now, The rest later, This was supposed to be a short little fic and kind of blew up, Trimberly Week, Two-shot/maybe three shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 06:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11663820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DossierArchangel/pseuds/DossierArchangel
Summary: It all started with Trini losing her hat...





	Just Can't Get You Off My Mind

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo, this was supposed to be a short little one shot for Trimberly week. It ended up...not being that. So I split it in half. Or thirds...? The rest will be finished by the end of the week.

She was acutely aware of the ticking clock on the off-white wall next to her. It was mocking her; she knew it. The lines on the paper in front of her blended together as the pounding behind her tired eyes increased tenfold. It was just Trini’s luck that she would wake up with a migraine the day of her Calculus midterm. It was like her senses were on overdrive. The lights were almost blindingly incandescent causing colored spots to blur her vision. Every cough or scoot of a chair sounded like an alarm bell setting off the rapid firing of neurons in her brain, each one increasing the agony accumulating in her head. 

Trini had to pass this midterm. Normally she’d be able to work these equations in her sleep. She had always been particularly skilled at math, finding comfort in the clear cut solutions to every problem. She studied for a week, knew every formula like the back of her hand, but none of that was helping when everything on the page in front of her looked like a discombobulated mess. She was going to fail, and her 4.0 was going to plummet, all because of a migraine. She closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head before returning her gaze to the test in front of her. She could almost make sense of the mix of numbers and letters. 

By the time her pencil stopped moving, the TA was giving the lecture hall their five minute warning. She dropped her head to her desk and waited while sending a silent prayer to a God she wasn’t quite sure she believed in anymore that she managed to do well enough to score a low A. Hell, she’d be happy with a B at this point. She could make up the points on her grade with the quizzes and final. She just needed to do well enough that she could still end up with an A in this class. She needed a break. It was only her sophomore year and she already felt like she was crumbling under the pressure to keep her grades up. Luckily this was her last midterm and she could take a much needed rest. Between the intense throbbing in her head and the tension in her neck and shoulders, Trini felt like she could sleep for the next three days. 

The alarm on the timer up front went off and Trini practically leapt from her seat with her test and scantron in hand moving with enough speed and dexterity to be the first to slam her papers on the desk. She flashed her id card at the TA and fled the room, desperate to get back to the apartment she shared with her best friend and curl under the comfort of her covers in the dark quiet of her room. She was in such a rush that she didn’t notice when her favorite yellow beanie slipped off the top of her head. 

“Hey,” she heard the boisterous voice call from behind her, “Hey! You dropped your hat!”

Trini kept walking, pausing briefly as the loudness of the voice caused a flash of pain to shoot through her brain. She just needed to get to her car. From there it was a six minute drive to her apartment and she could sleep this migraine away.  
A hand grasped at her wrist and she spun around with a growl, her eyes narrowed and a scowl painted her features. She had fully intended to tell this person off. She was ready to ruin someone’s day, migraine be damned. What she was not expecting was her gaze to be met with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life. She wasn’t incredibly tall or anything, but with Trini’s short stature she still had to crane her neck upwards to meet the other woman’s eyes. The furious look on her face softened immediately as she took her in. She was dressed in a pair of ripped black jeans that clung to her body nicely and a white v neck that showed off the tantalising curve of her collarbones and a slight tease of cleavage. The ensemble was pulled together with a black leather bomber jacket. She had choppy black hair that rested just above her shoulders, the hair on the right side of her head adorably pushed behind her ear. Her full lips pursed as she was taken aback by the quickness of the shorter woman in facing her. She had a beauty mark right above her lips and Trini wanted nothing more than to kiss it, but what really drew her into the other woman was her deeply intense dark brown eyes as her brows drew together. 

“You um,” the taller woman started as she cleared her throat, “You dropped this.”

Trini brought her eyes to the outstretched hands and immediately felt for her hair. With a sheepish smile she reached forward to grab her beanie, carefully tugging it back onto her head. 

“Right well,” the stranger said with a shrug of her shoulders, “I have an Organic Chem midterm I have to get to, soooo…”

She trailed off her sentence and Trini felt strangely comfortable under the dark questioning eyes. 

“Th-thank you,” Trini stuttered. 

The taller woman offered her a dazzling smile in return and Trini melted. With a wave of her hand she stalked off in the opposite direction. 

“Good luck,” Trini called after her with a shake of her head. She swore she saw the other woman turn back to her, but she could just be seeing things. 

The door next to Trini slammed open and the sound of chatter filtered into the hallway, the noise level rising with every passing second. She groaned and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes in frustration. First she needed to rest, then she could think about the beautiful stranger with the captivating eyes. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

It took two days for Trini to pull herself from her cocoon, the migraine finally clear. She was greeted with the sight of her best friend sitting with his legs crossed in front of the couch as he shoveled Coco Puffs into his mouth, a bit of milk dribbled down his chin.

“Yook who finalty otta deir vroom,” he attempted to say with a mouth full of cereal. 

Trini wrinkled her nose in disgust as she got a glimpse of the half chewed puffs as his mouth opened. She shook her head in annoyance already tempted to head back to her room. 

“Jesus Zack,” she admonished, “At least finish what’s in your mouth first.”

He grinned at her before opening his mouth and wiggling his tongue at her showing off the chewed up brown mush. She picked up the nearest object and chucked it at him only to get a laugh in response. 

“I said,” Zack stated with a roll of his eyes, “Look who’s finally out of their room. Welcome back to the land of the living Crazy Girl.”

Trini just grunted in response and plopped herself on the couch. She propped her feet up on the coffee table and leaned back into the cushions, her eyes shifting to the television as an episode of Bob’s Burgers played on the screen. Zack liked to start his mornings the same way he always has since they were four, with sugary cereal and tv, though he progressed from Saturday morning cartoons to whatever he was binging on Netflix or Hulu. 

The two had been best friends for as long as she can remember. The Taylor’s had lived down the road from Trini’s family her whole life. Zack Taylor made it his mission to antagonize Trini as much as he could when they were little. It all started at a neighborhood barbecue when they were four. Trini had spent the first hour clutching onto her father’s leg for dear life until a young Zack had noticed her and held out one of his prized Power Ranger action figures, the yellow one, to her. She cautiously grabbed it from him and the small boy grinned ear to ear. Her father pulled her from behind him and gently nudged her to go play with Zack as the boy sat at a table making the black Power Ranger do flips. They forged a tentative friendship from there and he managed to become the giant pain in her ass that she knew and loved. 

She leaned forward and ruffled his short black hair knowing that he had probably spent forever that morning styling it just right. In reality, she antagonized him just as much as he did her. 

“Come on T,” he whined, “Not my hair!”

Trini just giggled in response, an evil gleam in her eyes. He glowered at her, a pout forming on his lips. She rolled her eyes and patted his shoulder moving from the couch to the floor next to him, leaning against his side. He positioned his arm around her shoulder and she cuddled into his side watching tv with him as he ate his breakfast. 

Trini had always had a hard time connecting with people, but not with Zack. She didn’t know if it was because they had known each other practically their whole lives, or because they just understood each other on a whole different level, but her and Zack had always just fit. As they grew older, the annoying little boy that constantly pestered her had become something safe and sturdy. He was her rock. Neither of them ever really fit in anywhere, but they could always count on each other. Zack was there for the fallout of her coming out, and she was there when his dad bailed when they were nine and again when his mom died their senior year of high school. 

“I met a really pretty girl the other day,” Trini said breaking the comfortable silence.

Zack turned his head towards her quirking an eyebrow. 

“Oh yeah?” He asked wiggling his eyebrows, “Did you get digits?”

“I mean, I didn’t really get a chance to. I guess my beanie fell and she gave it back to me, but she had a midterm, so I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her,” she explained. 

“Any reason this random chick is so noteworthy?” Zack asked expecting a little more from the story. Trini didn’t normally bring things up unless they meant something. A one off encounter with a pretty girl isn't typically something she would casually mention to him.

Trini had a dazed look in her eye as she remembered the girl from the hallway. Her mind went back to her a lot in the two days she was recuperating from her migraine. She thought about the way the girl’s lips quirked, the crease in her forehead as her eyebrows drew together, the birthmark above her lip, and especially those eyes, dark and expressive. She cleared her throat. 

“She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” she responded levelling Zack with a deadly serious expression. 

“Well damn Crazy Girl,” Zack laughed. He had to admit that he had never seen Trini look this way over a girl. He’d never even seen her look at her high school girlfriend that way and they’d been together for almost two years. 

“It’s whatever,” she said with a shrug, “I’ll probably never see her again anyways.”

Zack nodded sagely, the cogs in his head already twisting and turning. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

As fate would have it, Trini did end up seeing the other woman again not even two weeks later. She was working a shift at the cafe on campus. She heard the bell ring and didn’t even bother to look up. She had just dealt with the customer from hell, some bleach blonde haired, blue eyed sorority girl that tried to argue that whoever had made her drink put whole milk and not lowfat milk in her caramel macchiato; she could taste the difference. Trini knew for a fact that it was lowfat milk because she had made the drink herself. She had told the girl as much which led to her being berated for a solid ten minutes and told that she had just lost the cafe a customer. Trini rolled her eyes as soon as the girl stormed off. The assistant manager, Jason, had given her a sympathetic smile. 

“Hey Kimmy,” she heard Jason say from next to her. 

Trini looked up and felt the breath leave her lungs as she noted that the woman in front of her was the same one that had been on her mind for almost two weeks. Her mouth gaped open as she unintentionally did her best impression of a fish. 

“Hey hat girl,” Kim said with ease, lips quirking up in a wry smile, dark eyes twinkling with delight. 

Trini let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed her hand along the back of her neck anxiously shooting a questioning look at Jason, who appeared to be just as confused as she was. 

“You two know each other?” He asked, his eyebrows raising slightly in question. 

“Um, know is a pretty liberal way of putting it,” Trini responded, her face growing hot under the inquiring eyes. 

“She dropped her hat, I returned it,” the taller woman, Kim, supplied, “Hence the name hat girl.”

She finished with a charming little grin that had Trini swooning. Their eyes met and Trini quickly averted her gaze. 

“Oh, well Kim, this is Trini Rodriguez, Trini, this is my best friend Kimberly Hart,” Jason introduced with a friendly smile, “Anything we can get you Kim?”

“Yeah, uh, just an iced coffee, light cream and sugar,” Kim ordered as Trini rang it up on the register. 

Jason was already making the drink; it had been a slow day. Trini stood there awkwardly, her fingers drumming against the counter and avoiding eye contact like the plague. She snuck small glances when she thought the taller woman wasn’t looking. She only got caught twice, receiving a cute grin both times in response. 

“I’ll see you around,” Kim said as Jason handed her the coffee. 

Trini thought that Kim had been talking to Jason, but when she glanced up she noticed that the other woman had her gaze locked onto her. 

“Uh yeah,” Trini responded, “Sure.”

“See you tomorrow Jace,” Kim yelled as she opened the door, “Dinner with my parents. Don’t be late this time.”

With that, Kimberly Hart had once again made a quick exit from her life and Trini was left bewildered. She stood stock still for a few moments before the bell rang signalling a new customer. Trini planted on her best fake customer service smile and that was that. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

The library was quiet as Trini sat working on her Thermodynamics homework. At this point in her academic career it really shouldn’t have surprised her how in depth the assignments for her classes got, but after four pages of calculations for one problem she was all but ready to slam her head into her notebook. She let out an audible groan throwing her head back in frustration. It drew sharp looks from the table next to her but the withering glare that she sent in return had the three students quickly averting their gazes. 

Trini looked back down at the pages before her and sighed. She couldn’t quite get the calculations right on the last problem. She’d been doing homework for two hours and she needed a break. Maybe she would be able to figure it out with fresh eyes. 

The chair next to her screeched as it was pulled out. She knew there were multiple empty tables and seats scattered across the library and she quite liked working in solitude. It was why she worked in the library instead of the apartment. Sure she could work in her room, but Zack always had a habit of just barging in with no warning. He had also never really mastered using an inside voice. She loved him, but sometimes living with him was like living with an oversized seven year old. 

“Hey stranger,” a feminine voice greeted, “Long time no see.”

Trini turned her head to the side to see Kimberly Hart sitting backwards on the chair, arms resting over the back and looking at her with a raised eyebrow and devilishly charming smirk. 

“Uh, hey,” Trini responded, “Kim, right?”

Trini knew her name. In fact, she remembered the other woman’s full name. She was embarrassed by how often she thought about her and the fact she didn’t think she could ever forget it. Kim broke out into a wide grin that made her rich dark eyes light up. 

“Yeah, Didi, right?” Kim asked with a mischievous look in her eyes as she took in the shorter woman’s frown.

“I’m kidding,” Kim relented, “I know it’s Trini.”

Trini just nodded in response as the sour look disappeared from her face as a bashful one overtook it. She smiled up at Kim through her eyelashes. 

“Look, we don’t really know each other or anything, but I just got done with a bitch of a research paper and well I saw you over here and you look like you could use a break from-” she pauses to take a look at Trini’s notebook, “Holy hell, from whatever the fuck that chicken scratch mess is. So, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to grab a coffee or something. With me?”

A soft blush breaks out on Trini’s cheeks, but it is light enough to be barely noticeable. She takes a minute or two to examine her lap, the table, the walls, really anything that was not one Kimberly Hart. 

“Yeah,” Trini said clearing her throat, “I was going to take a break. Some company might be nice.”

Kim gave her a beaming smile in response as she held her hand out for the shorter woman to take. Trini gathered the contents of the table, unceremoniously shoving them into her messenger bag. The bag was littered with pins. Most of them were nerdy, but there were a couple that looked like they were of bands Kim had never heard of. A few pins in particular caught her eye; a Wonder Woman pin, a pin with Bombshell Harley and Ivy kissing, a Batwoman pin, and an America Chavez pin. She put together that the other woman was obviously a comic book nerd, but it also peaked her interest that all of the comic pins that Trini had on her bag were of queer heroines. 

“So, you’re a huge nerd,” Kim teased with a goofy smile as she gestured towards messenger bag.

Trini squared her shoulders and crossed her arms, “Yeah, and?”

“No, that’s awesome,” Kim said noticing the other woman’s defensiveness, “I love comics, my friend Billy really got me into them in high school. Though I have to admit I’m more of a Marvel girl myself. They have my husband Peter Parker.”

“Ugh, you’re killing me Princess. First of all, if you’re going to be about Spider-Man, it’s got to be Miles.” Trini retorted with fake exasperation in her voice, “Secondly, it’s DC, Image, or bust.”

The two walked together in a comfortable silence despite virtually being strangers. There was an easy almost familiarity between the two, like they had known each other for years even though they’d had a total of three conversations, well if you could really call them conversations. 

When they got to the cafe, Kim rushed ahead to hold the door open for Trini who in turn shot her a bashful grin. The two took turns ordering, an espresso and banana nut muffin for Trini, and an iced coffee for Kim. Trini rushed ahead to pay for both of them before the taller woman could stop her. 

“You really didn’t have to pay,” Kim said as they took their seats at a table in the far corner. 

“I mean, you are distracting me from my very tedious homework. So really it’s the least I can do,” Trini said with a shrug. 

“Yeah, what the hell were you working on anyways?” Kim asked with wide eyes as she remembered the immense volume of numbers and letters scattered across the pages of the notebook. 

“Thermodynamics,” Trini explained with a wave of her hand, “I’m a mechanical engineering major. It’s a complete bitch, but I really love it.”

“Damn, and I thought my course load was brutal,” Kim said letting out a low appreciative whistle, “I’m a biochem major. But I get to worry more about the science and less about the math. I hate math. Passing those first two Calc classes almost killed me and I’m dreading Physics, but Billy, the friend I mentioned earlier is kind of a genius and ended up saving my ass tutoring me.”

“Wait, so are you taking Calc III this semester then,” Trini questioned, “Because I could always help you if you wanted? I’ve always been pretty good with numbers.”

Kim shot her an appreciative smile and nodded her head in affirmation. A piece of her shoulder length hair fell into her face and Trini had the strongest urge to brush it behind the other woman’s ear. It took a surprising amount of restraint to refrain from doing so. 

“That would be amazing,” Kim exclaimed a little too loudly for the quiet cafe, “Honestly Finnigan’s midterm almost killed me. I barely pulled a low B on it. And I feel bad for constantly running to Billy for help in the class.”

“Wait, you have Finnigan?” Trini asked, “I have him Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“I know,” Kim said, “How do you think I found your hat? How did you do on that midterm anyways?”

“I somehow managed to pull a 93. I still don’t know how. I had a migraine the whole time and everything just started blurring together on the page,” Trini answered with wide eyes. 

She had been so happy that she had managed to keep her A in the class. She thought for sure she’d done poorly on the exam. 

“Yeah, I am definitely going to take you up on that offer,” Kim said, her voice conveying how impressed she was, “Here, give me your phone.”

Trini obliged, passing her phone over to the taller woman who proceeded to type in her name and number. 

“Text me,” Kim suggested as she got up from her seat, “I have to go though. I have a study group for my Chem class. Um, but seriously, text me. Even if it isn’t about Calc.”

With that Kim walked away from the table tossing a wink over her shoulder at Trini. The smaller woman for her part just sat staring at her phone, eyes glued to the contact name. It was Kim with a heart emoji next to it. Logically Trini knew this was a play on Kim’s last name being Hart, but she still couldn’t help the blush and dopey smile that spread over her face. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Trini had been staring at her phone for two hours. The tv was on in the background with the volume low; she had put on an early episode of Brooklyn 99 while she caught up on some reading for her classes. She needed the quiet of the library to focus on her actual homework, but for some reason the silence made it impossible to read her textbooks. Whenever Zack was at work and she had the apartment to herself she’d camp out on the couch and turn on some soft music or a repeat of a favorite show and knock out as many chapters as she could. 

After about half an hour of reading the same paragraph she pulled out her phone to shoot Zack a text for some encouragement. Of course in the process of doing so she got stuck looking at the draft for Kimberly she had at the top of her messenger. If it already wasn’t enough that she couldn’t even get through a chapter of Differential Equations without having the other woman run through her mind, now all she could think about was how she has had her number for five days and has yet to strike up the courage to send her a message. It’s not like she hasn’t tried, really she has, but nothing sounded right. 

Trini rubbed her temples as she watched the dash flicker in the message box. It was taunting her. Every flash was a reminder that she was absolutely clueless when it came to this kind of stuff. Dating. Not that they were dating. Or that there was even a potential for it. Kim was probably straight for all she knew. And probably dating Jason. Hadn’t she mentioned dinner with her parents to him? She never knew how to pick up on romantic cues. Hell, when her and Zack were 14, she had agreed to date him without realizing that was what had happened for three weeks. He had finally tried to kiss her and she decked him in the face. The confusion that resulted from that situation had been an awful albeit funny mess. Her first and only girlfriend only happened because the girl had walked up to her one day and basically told her they were dating. Apparently Zack had given the girl that advice in order to avoid another situation. Trini agreed and they dated on and off for two years. It ended only because Karla, her girlfriend, graduated and was going to school across the country. It’s not like she’d been celibate for the last three years or anything. There was the occasional one night stand or fling, but none of them had turned into anything. 

Trini was so focused on her thoughts that she didn’t notice the front door open. Zack trudged in with his shoulders slumped forward. His normally styled jet black hair was messily sticking to the sides of his face and neck as water dripped down. The crisp white shirt he had been wearing when he left the apartment was essentially see through and clinging to his well defined torso. His handsome face was the picture of pure dejection. 

“No no,” he grumbled stepping into the entryway, “I’m fine really, just stay there. I’ll get myself a towel.”

Trini jumped at the presence of her best friend’s voice. Her eyes darted up and took in his soaked appearance, droplets of water running down his body and dripping onto the tan carpet. Her first instinct was to make a joke, but after seeing how miserable Zack looked she bit her tongue and dragged herself to the hall closet to grab him a big fluffy towel. 

“Why do you look like a drowned rat?” Trini asked with a raised eyebrow as she handed him the towel, “Was Mr. Ling not able to drive you home? You should have called me.”

Frankly, Trini was so distracted that she didn’t even notice the heavy downpour outside, but typically Mr. Ling would drive Zack back to the apartment after every closing shift. 

“He said he can’t afford to keep me anymore and that he’d let me stay on the next two weeks, but after that I’d have to find something else so I just kind of bailed. It started raining about halfway here,” Zack mumbled so quietly Trini almost didn’t hear him. 

With the towel wrapped tightly around his shoulders Zack slid down the door his face falling into his hands with a deep sigh. Trini crouched down next to him rubbing her hands up and down his arms over the towel in an effort to warm him up. She was glad she decided against the sarcastic response she initially had. 

“How am I supposed to pay rent Trin?” Zack asked, his voice cracking, “How am I supposed to cover my books? Food? The scholarships and grants only cover tuition and Mr. Ling was the only one willing to work around my schedule while still giving me the hours I needed.”

“I can talk to Jason,” Trini offered trying to help come up with a solution, “He had to fire Allison the other day and we were already in dire need of help. I’m sure he’ll be willing to work around the time you need considering how desperate we are for more people. I know it’ll be a pay cut, but at least it’s a job for now?”

Zack looked up, his eyes filled with unshed tears. He tried to give her a watery smile but it just came out looking like a grimace. 

“And I mean, you know my parents wouldn’t mind just paying the entire rent. They love you. You’re practically like their son anyways. I still don’t know why you fought them on it when they offered in the first place,” Trini cautiously suggested with a shrug of her shoulders. 

“No,” he argued with a defiant eyes, “Your parents have already done way too much for me, okay? I couldn’t let them pay my way too. I just, I need to do this. If I need to pull out student loans as a last resort, I will.”

“At least think about it, please?” Trini begged with a kiss to his forehead, “Come on, let’s get you dry and in bed, you have class in the morning. We can figure this out tomorrow.” 

This boy was her heart and soul, and she hated seeing him like this. Zack Taylor was larger than life. Brash and exuberant. He was the happy go lucky to her glass half empty disposition. He had been dealt way too much heartache in life and all it had done was make him incredibly kind and compassionate. 

Zack followed closely behind her to his room. She moved forward with practiced familiarity and rummaged through his dresser pulling out his favorite sleep shirt and a pair of sweat shorts and chucked them at him. 

“Change,” she ordered with narrowed eyes, “I’ll even let you sleep in my bed tonight, but you hog my covers again and I’ll kick your ass to the floor.”

Trini hastily made her way to her own room. She quickly threw on a pair of gym shorts and an oversized t-shirt she’d stolen from Zack. About ten minutes after she had gotten comfortable in bed and turned out her bedside lamp she felt the bed dip and the pull of covers as Zack slipped under them. 

“Trini,” Zack whispered, “Will you jetpack me?”

The shorter woman rolled her eyes as she rolled over and pressed against him wrapping an arm around his waist. Zack released a content sigh and wiggled back closer to her. When he was upset he liked being held, a fact that he wasn’t ashamed of in the slightest. The week his mom died, he spent every night in her bed and she spooned him while he cried, soothingly running her hands through his hair. Her parents took him in and he took over the guest bedroom, but on particularly bad nights he found himself back in her bed. She would tease him about liking to be little spoon and he started jokingly referring to it as jetpacking as a dig to her height. 

Soon enough Zack’s breaths started to even out. Trini couldn’t sleep. Her mind was racing. If only Zack wasn’t so stubborn. Her parents were more than willing to pay for the whole apartment. He would easily be able to get a part time job to cover the rest of his bills. He was starting to run himself thin between working almost full time and maintaining above a 3.0 to keep his scholarships. With her head full of worry for her best friend, Trini fell asleep for the first time in a while without Kimberly Hart at the forefront of her mind. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

It was another full week before Trini saw Kimberly again despite sharing a class together. With a class of three hundred plus people, it was difficult to discern one person out of the sea of many. Even someone as radiant as Kim. She had also been so focused on Zack that she forgot about her dilemma of whether or not to text the other woman. So she was completely surprised when she was met face to face with one very unhappy Kimberly Hart. 

Trini was working her usual Wednesday evening shift at the cafe. They closed in an hour, so it was mostly empty save for one or two straggling customers. 

“So, is there any reason you haven’t texted me yet or were you just never planning to,” Kimberly groused as she made her way up to the counter. 

Trini slowed her motions of wiping down the front of the glass case and turned to face a scowling Kim, and really, she probably shouldn’t find it as sexy as she does, especially when she’s at the center of the other woman’s ire. Trini subtly backs up and pulls her bottom lip between her lips, surprised by the fire in Kim’s eyes. 

“I uh - I,” Trini stuttered not really sure how to respond.

“You what? Get a girl’s number and then avoid her for two weeks?” Kim challenged placing her hands on her hips. 

Trini’s hand found it’s place on the back of her neck, something that had become almost a nervous habit that developed in her early teen years. She had the good sense to appear sheepish, looking up at Kim through fluttering eyelashes. The other woman seemed to falter for a second before her face once again hardened with steel resolve. 

“Well, no, I uh, I just didn’t know what to say and then something came up this week that needed my attention and it genuinely just slipped my mind. I can help you study for tomorrow’s quiz tonight after I clock out if you want? Or not. It’s cool if not. I mean, it’s been two weeks. You could have found another tutor that knows how to text back,” Trini rambled, a blush coloring her cheeks as she shifted on her heels. 

Kim’s face fell. She had honestly not been thinking when she confronted the shorter woman. She had been impulsive and reckless. Again. She had a tendency to do things without thinking them through, and when she saw Trini through the cafe window she acted. 

“Oh God,” Kim said as she hid her face in her palm, “I can’t believe I just came in here and yelled at you like that. I don’t even know what I was thinking. Well, I wasn’t thinking. Obviously you weren’t obligated to text me. I guess I read too much into it. I just thought you were interested…”

“No, I was, I am,” Trini quickly cut in, “I definitely still want to tutor you. A lot just really did come up. I wasn’t purposely ignoring you.”

“No, I meant like, interested,” Kim said putting emphasis on the last word, “Like, in me.”

The taller woman pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, her eyes dropping to the floor. Trini was frozen. Her brain was in overdrive, neurons firing at rapid speed as she tried to make sense of what Kim had just said.

“You mean as like friends?” Trini asked lamely.

“No I mean in a take you out on dates and get you naked kind of way,” Kim scoffed in disbelief. 

Trini coughed as she tried to clear her throat. She felt hot. Of all of the things Trini had expected to come out of Kim’s mouth, that had definitely not been one of them. 

“But I thought you and Jason…” Trini trailed off slowly. 

“Dude, no!” Kim said with a laugh, her eyes shot up to Trini, “Me and Jason? Jason Scott? No, we tried that freshman year of high school and it was a disaster. Honestly I was starting to wonder why you weren’t responding to my flirting. I thought maybe my gaydar was off, but you look at me like you haven’t seen water for days. Now it makes sense. You thought I was straight and dating Jason.”

“Well you told him not not to forget dinner with your parents and then you brought up your crush on Spider-Man! It was confusing,” Trini shouted, “Wait, did you just say you were flirting with me?”

“I’ve been trying to,” Kim joked with a teasing grin, “And bisexuality exists dipshit.”

Trini blushed at the other woman’s words, her cheeks flaring scarlet. Zack was going to have a field day with this. He always liked to poke fun at her obliviousness when it came to people being into her. She wasn’t hopeless or anything; once she knew someone was interested in her she was actually pretty great at the whole flirting and dating thing. It was just that someone practically had to beat her over the head with any attraction or feelings. 

“Do you want to grab dinner with me?” Trini blurted, her words coming out in a rushed mess, “I mean after my shift is out. We close up in twenty minutes. I can make up for being an oblivious ass.”

Kim stepped forward and gingerly placed her hand on Trini’s upper arm. Her head tilted to the side and her eyes appeared almost predatory as she looked the other woman up and down. The shorter woman was wearing a pair of fitted dark blue jeans with a black v-neck, the cafe logo printed boldly front and center on the shirt. Her long brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun that sat on the top of her head. Kim made a hum of approval in the back of her throat, eyes darkening imperceptibly. She ran a hand through her choppy shoulder length locks and noticed the way that Trini’s eyes followed the movement. The shorter woman gulped. 

“Or we could just save time and head back to my apartment,” Kim offered with a suggestive smile. 

Trini spluttered, her eyes widening almost comically as heat rose to her cheeks. Her mind flashed with carnal images that made her throat dry. Her mouth opened and closed in an attempt to say something, but all that came out was a strangled whimper. Kim smirked and stepped into the shorter woman’s body leaning down to whisper in her ear. Trini shivered as she felt lips graze her skin. 

“What do you say?” Kim asked, her hand slid down Trini’s arm. 

Trini just nodded in response; she didn’t trust her words at the moment. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure she could produce sound even if she wanted to. There was just something about Kimberly Hart that kept her on edge. She had never felt so off kilter around another person. 

“Right well, I’m just going to sit over there and wait for you to finish up,” Kim said, leveling the shorter woman with a beaming smile. 

Trini worked diligently to get the cafe cleaned and the register counted before she closed up shop. Luckily there were no last minute customers to hold up her work flow and she was finished with all of her closing duties with five minutes to spare. Her fingers drummed against the counter as she impatiently waited for the time to go by. At nine o’clock on the dot Trini flipped the switch on the open sign and watched as the neon lights dimmed. Kim had stepped outside and Trini followed turning back to lock up the cafe and dropped the key in the lockbox next to the door. 

“So, I actually got a ride here, mind if I ride with you?” Kim inquired with a raised eyebrow. 

The pair made their way to Trini’s car in silence, the air between them was thick with tension. Trini was parked on the third floor of the parking garage closest to the cafe, her Jeep Wrangler was waiting in a spot near to the elevator. Kim shot the other girl a curious smile. 

“What,” Trini questioned self-consciously. 

“Nothing,” Kim shot out quickly, “It’s just that you would have the gayest car ever.”

Trini rolled her eyes as she made her way over to the passenger side door, opening it for Kim to get it. The ride was mostly quiet. Some soft indie music was coming through the speakers, and Kim interjected every now and then to give directions. They pulled up to a gated apartment complex. It was nice, like the kind of nice that made Trini uncomfortable, and she came from an upper middle-class family. The gate guard waved them through when he recognized Kim. He was young and threw Kim a shy smile as they drove off. 

Kim’s apartment was on the second floor. The first thing Trini noticed when they entered was how spacious it was. It was easily twice the size of her and Zack’s tiny two bedroom. The place was modern; it was either recently remodeled, or new construction. If Trini had to guess she’d go with new construction. The entire complex was still in impeccable condition. It was incredibly tidy inside with very minimal clutter. A few pictures and art pieces hung on the walls. Trini was pleasantly surprised to see that a couple of the prints were nerdy. There was a piece of Spider-Man swinging from his web, mask off and laughing. Kim was not kidding about her crush on Peter Parker. Another print that caught Trini’s eye was a Wonder Woman canvas print hanging above the tv. The Amazon was donning her armor from the movie trailers as she struck a battle pose. It even uncannily resembled Gal Gadot. A couple pop figures decorated the bookshelf in the corner of the living room. It was full of a mixture of comic trades and traditional books. Trini saw that Kim had the Harry Potter Series and A Song of Ice and Fire as well as some classics like Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. Trini made a mental not that Kim seemed to like classic romance novels. The kitchen was spacious. The shorter woman was actually kind of jealous. The kitchen in her apartment was tiny. It was so difficult to really cook in it, especially if Zack was in there with her. The cabinets were a rich dark cherry and the counter tops were covered in a forest green granite. It was pretty much Trini’s dream kitchen. 

“So, uh, did you want to order a pizza? Or there’s a pretty good Thai place that does take out around the corner. They even deliver.” Kim said interrupting Trini’s inspection of her home. 

“Yeah, whichever you’d prefer works,” she responded with a smile. 

“Pizza would probably be easier I guess,” Kim suggested with a shrug, “Extra cheese good for you?”

“Yeah, that works,” Trini agreed. 

While Kim was ordering the pizza, Trini took a seat on the brown leather couch in the living room. It was deceptively comfortable, the small woman sinking right into the cushions. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

Pain In My Ass: Yo Crazy Girl, you getting out of work late?

Trini: I’m out. I’m actually at Kim’s place…

Pain In My Ass: Kim? As in Kim Kim? As in the chick you haven’t shut up about for like the last month Kim? Get it grrrrrl. 

Trini: Yeah THAT Kim. Just don’t wait up. I might be home late. 

With that Trini shoved her phone back into her pocket, ignoring it as it went off four more times. She would talk to Zack later. The couch dips next to her and Trini turns to head in the direction. Kim is close. Impossibly close. The shorter woman sucks in a breath at the proximity. 

“Soooo,” Kim dragged out, “Do you want to watch a movie or something? I can pull up Netflix.”

“Why Kimmy, are you suggesting we Netflix and chill?” Trini teased with a raised eyebrow seeming to have finally built up some confidence. 

“I no, I know what I said earlier and it’s not like I’m entirely opposed to the idea. I mean, have you seen you? But I was you know talking about actually watching a movie, or even having it on for background noise so I could get to know you better or I don’t know I just- “ Kim spluttered, her face crimson by the time she’s halfway through rambling. 

“I was kidding. Besides, I didn’t plan to put out until at least the third date,” Trini said with a wink effectively cutting off the other woman’s tirade.

Trini couldn’t deny that she was more than pleasantly surprised by Kim’s sudden awkwardness. From the time they met until now she had not seen her be anything other than completely confident and at ease compared to Trini being entirely flustered every time she had been in the other woman’s presence. It was a slight ego boost that she affected Kim as well. She no longer had to second guess the flirting. 

“Well, there goes my master plan to seduce you then,” Kim joked her nerves seemingly calmed by Trini’s relaxed nature, “Guess I should’ve sprung for the Thai food.”

Trini laughed good-naturedly shaking her head, an easy going smile graced her lips. She was typically very guarded around people, always slow to trust or let her walls down. It was why she’d never really had many friends. Not that she ever felt like she’d ever really needed anyone else besides Zack. He’d always been an outsider as well, so they mostly stuck to each other’s sides, though his outgoing personality always made making friends outside of her a little easier than the other way around. For some reason Kimberly Hart seemed to be an exception. Each brief meeting with the other woman chipping away at Trini’s hardened exterior. It felt easy, like she didn’t have to hide behind a mask of indifference. 

“I mean, couldn’t have hurt your chances at least,” Trini replied cooly. 

“Hey!” Kim shouted with a light shove to the shorter woman’s shoulder, “I asked you what you wanted first! It’s not my fault you couldn’t make a decision!”

“Yeah, and I left the choice up to you,” Trini said sticking her tongue out at Kim. 

“You know I was wrong about you Trini Rodriguez, you are not nice,” Kim said trying to sound affronted and failing miserably as a giggle breaks through and gives her away.

“Did you just full name me, Kimberly Hart?” Trini laughs, “And your first mistake was thinking I was nice. I am like the opposite of nice, okay? I’m tough and mysterious and badass.”

“Oh please, you’re like an adorable little munchkin. I could fit you in my pocket,” Kim shot back. 

Trini gasped in mock outrage before pouncing on the other woman who squealed in surprise as she attempted to find all of her ticklish spots. By the time her hands made their way to Kim’s ribs, the taller woman was howling with laughter. She was beautiful like this, head thrown back, a look of pure glee painted over her face. Her shoulder length bob was a complete mess and Trini couldn’t help but find it’s disarray attractive. It was the kind of bed head look that others strived to recreate with ample hair products, and Kim’s hair just did it naturally. 

“Okay okay,” Kim managed to get out through laughter and gasping breaths, “You win. I surrender.”

“Exactly,” Trini returned smugly, “Because I am not adorable. You gotta say it. You gotta admit that I am a terrifying badass.”

“Well I mean, you are terrifying,” Kim whispered averting her eyes, cheeks dusted with a hint of pink. 

It was the sudden moment of vulnerability that made Trini realize the position they were in. Kim was pressed back into the couch, hair fanned out and cheeks flushed. Her dark eyes appeared impossibly darker. They were both breathing erratically, chests heaving from the previous effort of the smaller woman’s surprise attack. Trini was lying on top of her, bodies meshed tightly together, hands resting against Kim’s ribs where they had stilled from her previous ministrations. She didn’t realize how close their faces were until right then. If she just moved forward a couple of inches. Kimberly instead started bringing her face upwards towards Trini. The shorter woman could feel the tiny puffs of breath against her lips and just as she was about to connect them when they were brought out of their reverie by the heavy knocks on the front door. Startled, Kim slammed her head up connecting her forehead with Trini’s. Hard. The tiny woman fell back on the couch groaning and clutching at her head. 

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Kim rushed out, ignoring the pain in her own head as she scrambled to get to the door. 

Trini was still tracing the tender spot on her forehead when Kim made her way back over to the couch holding a plate of pizza out with a sheepish look upon her face. There was a visible bump present on her head as well and Trini would be lying if she said she wasn’t tempted to press a kiss into it. 

They ended up putting on 30 Rock because they’d both already seen the show in it’s entirety. The pizza was gone by the third episode and Trini was acutely aware of the fact that neither of them were really watching it. She could see Kim staring at her from the corner of her eye and when she turned to meet her gaze, the other woman quickly averted her eyes like she hadn’t been caught. It was like a game. It lasted another episode and a half before Trini had had enough. 

“What’s your favorite color?” Trini asked breaking the silence mentally scolding herself for blurting out the first question that came to her mind.

“We playing 20 Questions now?” Kim questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

“Well neither one of us is really watching the show and it was starting to get awkward,” Trini replied with a shrug, “So, favorite color?”

Kim regarded the shorter woman for a moment before answering, “You’re going to make fun of me, but it’s pink.”

Trini let out a giggle in response, quickly slapping her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. She didn’t giggle. It was just hard to imagine leather jacket, combat boot wearing Kimberly Hart’s favorite color being pink. 

“Right, sorry,” Trini apologized, “Just not the answer I was expecting.”

“I don’t mean like hot pink or like cotton candy pink,” Kim explained, “I grew up in this small fishing town outside of San Francisco. Angel Grove. It was right on the coast, but pretty much also really close to the mountains. My family’s house is a little bit outside of town on the side of them. I used to go outside and watch the sunset over Angel Grove. It was one of the few times I didn’t feel like I needed to run away. But that soft pastel pink that colored the sky is my favorite.”

“Mine’s yellow,” Trini blurted out not really knowing what to say to Kim’s honesty. 

“Yellow,” Kim snorted, “Because of your oh so sunny disposition?”

Trini scowled in response. 

“Yeah, that right there,” Kim said, “My pink makes way more sense than your yellow.”

“Well, I don’t have a profound reason or anything,” Trini responded, her arms crossed over her chest, “I’ve just liked it for as long as I can remember.”

Kim nodded as she tried to think of a question for the shorter woman. Her mind was going a mile a minute. In the end, she decided to go with something simple. 

“Where did you grow up?” She asked with a soft smile; she genuinely wanted to know as much as she could about the smaller woman. 

“Austin, Texas,” Trini responded with a grimace. 

“But you don’t have an accent!” Kim practically shouted. 

Trini rolled her eyes before responding, “Not everyone has a thick Southern twang.”

“Oh,” the taller woman responded lamely, “And here I was hoping you were hiding a delicate Southern belle somewhere under there.”

“Oh my God,” Trini groaned, “My best friend Zack doesn’t have an accent either.”

“Well, that’s disappointing. My vision of Texas is shot. It was all accents and cowboy hats and bull riding,” Kim said with a pout. 

Trini snorted in response, “Sorry to burst your bubble Princess. But I grew up in a regular suburban neighborhood in Austin. My dad’s a corporate lawyer and my mom’s a nurse. I have two little brothers. Twins. Mateo and Tomas. They just turned 13 a few months ago.”

“I hear Austin is at least pretty chill, good music and art scene,” Kimberly said with a nod of her head. 

“It was okay. Zack and I took the first chance to run. Applied to schools on both coasts and narrowed down to the places we both got into, UM, USC, NYU, and Washington State. Decided we didn’t really want to deal with the cold so it was pretty much California versus Florida. Cali ended up winning us over,” Trini explained. 

“You talk about him a lot you know,” Kim pointed out, her expression unreadable, “You’re not like secretly in love with you best friend right, because that would be a thing to know before I completely fall for you.”

Trini’s eyes widened at the implication and she broke out into a full body laugh. Her and Zack? Her and Zack together in an intimate sense? She loved the guy and she had to admit he was a really gorgeous dude, but she was so gay. So so gay. 

“Oh God no,” Trini answered as her laughter finally died down, “I mean if I weren’t a lesbian? Sure, why not, dude is pretty much my platonic soulmate. But girls Kim. Girls.”

“I mean, we never established if you were gay or bi or whatever,” Kim grumbled, “Not that it matters, of course, like I like both. It’d totally be cool if you did too. I just, I dated a guy in high school that was hung up on his best friend and ended up cheating with her behind my back. Last I heard they’re very happy and very engaged. So I’m a little guarded now when I like someone.”

“Kim, I know we don’t really know each other, but you’ve pretty much been the only thing on my mind since we met. I wasn’t completely honest earlier when I said that I forgot to text you. I really did have something important come up, but truth is I tried to text you so many times and wussed out. I mean, it’s no secret that I’m incredibly attracted to you, but I was terrified of getting to know you when I was pretty sure you were straight. I’ve never really been good at this. I’ve always been more adept at one night stands than actual dating. And I can’t lie and say that Zack and I aren’t like grossly close and in a sense I can see why people would think we could be a thing. We’re attached at the hip, really affectionate, and we bicker like a married couple. But I’m like Kinsey scale 6 gay. And also crazy into you, so, yeah,” Trini rambled. 

Kim was silent and for a minute Trini was worried. It wouldn’t be the first time a girl has been intimidated by how close her and Zack were. Trini’s high school girlfriend regularly struggled with jealousy issues over their friendship, and Zack has had a few short term girlfriends that didn’t take too kindly to her. She opened her mouth to speak and was surprised when her words were cut off by Kim’s lips pressed against her own. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

It was another week before they saw each other again outside of their shared class, taking the chance to sit next to each other every lecture. Kim had made Trini promise that she would text her this time. And really, it was the least Trini could do after they spent the whole night making out on Kim’s couch. 

Trini, in an attempt to be a smartass, texted Kim as soon as she left the other woman’s apartment. They had been texting nonstop since, late into the night and first thing in the morning. The lack of physical affection was killing both of them. Trini found herself getting distracted with Kim next to her in Calc III, her mind wandering to the way the other woman’s body pressed against her own or the skilled way she kissed her. The quick pecks before Kim rushed to her next class just weren’t enough.

She did have to admit that their consistent game of 20 Questions was fun, though Trini wasn’t sure they could really call it that anymore since they had far surpassed 20 questions. They really have learned a lot about each other. Trini now knew Kim’s favorite movie, Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 version. She learned that her mother was Hindu and her father was Christian and that she was raised with both faiths though she didn’t consider herself religious. She learned that Kim was an only child, that both of her parents were surgeons but despite them not being around much she was close with both of them. She learned that the other woman was a cheerleader in high school, much to Trini’s surprise, and that she’d only ever been in love once with the same boy that broke her heart. Kim found out that Trini had never been in love before; she had had an on and off again girlfriend for two years in high school, but she never really reached the point of being in love with her. Trini’s parents were both Catholic, but where her mother was devout, her father was a Christmas and Easter kind of Catholic. Her favorite movie was The Princess Bride which Kim found adorable much to the shorter woman’s chagrin. 

“Excited for your date tomorrow,” Zack asked with a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows. 

Trini narrowed her eyes at him. They were both working a shift at the cafe. It was Zack’s second day. Trini had managed to convince Jason to give Zack a job. It’s not like he could really say no with how shorthanded they were. Her best friend worked his last two weeks at Mr. Ling’s restaurant and then immediately started at the cafe. He had finally conceded to let Trini’s parents cover his part of the rent, but only until he got back on his feet work-wise. 

“I mean yeah,” Trini replied with a shrug, “We haven’t really gotten a chance to spend time together besides class and that doesn’t really count.”

“When am I going to meet this Kimberly Hart anyways,” Zack asked, “Someone has to give her the talk. The you break her heart I break your bones talk. Nothing but the best for my Crazy Girl.”

“Yeah, see that is exactly why you haven’t met her,” Trini said with narrowed eyes as she pointed an accusatory finger at her best friend, “I like this one, so when you do meet her, you will be on you best behavior.”

“When am I not on my best behavior,” he asked as he batted his eyelashes innocently. 

Trini scoffed and punched him in the shoulder. She heard someone clear their throat behind her and she shot an apologetic smile at Jason. She had to work on keeping her hands, or her fists really, to herself at work now that Zack was there. Or at the very least not do so in clear view of the customers. 

“So, um, are you excited for your date tomorrow?” Jason asked with a hint of red in his cheeks. 

Kim had no doubt been talking Jason’s ear off about her the same way she had been talking Zack’s ear off about Kim. Trini couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across her face. Jason actually looked taken aback having never seen a genuine smile on the shorter woman before. He felt himself return the smile. It was weird seeing Trini so giddy. She was normally very reserved and grumpy a permanent glower painted on her face. Even her ‘customer service’ smile appeared uneasy. But right now he could practically feel the sense of ease radiating from her body. 

“You know it Bossman,” Trini replied with light eyes. 

Jason looked as though he was going to add more to the conversation until the sound of a high pitched whistle pierced through the cafe. Both Trini and the assistant manager’s heads shot to the source of the sound to find Zack struggling with the cappuccino machine. 

“Oh my God how do you make it stop,” Zack groaned as foam overran the cup he was filling, the heat burning his fingers. 

The sound of shattered ceramic rang out behind the counter. Zack’s shoulders visibly deflated as he caught Jason walking over. 

“Please please don’t fire me,” he begged, “I really need this job. I promise I’ll get better.”

To Trini’s surprise Jason let out a chuckle.

“Relax bro,” Jason said clapping the other man on the shoulder, “It’s only your second day. I broke I don’t even know how many mugs my first week. It’ll come to you in time. Here, let me show you how to work the machine again.”

Trini had to give Jason one thing, he was incredibly patient and though she’d never actually admit it to his face, he was a great assistant manager. The blonde man was a natural leader, choosing to do so through compassion and understanding. He was definitely the best boss she had ever had. She felt a soft spot open up for the man as she watched him mentor her best friend. She started cleaning up the mess as the other two worked. A hiss slipped passed her lips as a jagged piece of the broken mug sliced her finger. She had thought she was being careful. The bell of the cafe door rang out just as Trini made her way to the back room to patch up the cut on her finger. 

“Hello gorgeous,” Trini heard Zack say flirtatiously, “What can I get for you?”

She rolled her eyes, could picture the exact smirk of his face as he attempted to chat up a pretty customer. The poor girl probably didn’t even know what hit her. Zack had always done really well with girls. Even in high school when they were considered the ‘rejects’ Zack had that sort of bad boy charm that got him all the girls, even if he was the biggest softie Trini had ever met. It’s not like they were bullied or anything like that. They were just on the fringe of all the social circles. 

“Trini you gotta come see this,” Jason said with the biggest shit eating grin Trini had ever seen.

Having taken care of her finger she followed him out front trying to figure out what she was supposed to be seeing. She turned her gaze to where Jason was watching and saw Zack leaning against the wall by the corner table, his chest puffed out as he was more than likely making a pass at whoever was sitting there. She walked closer to Jason wondering what the big deal was. From the new angle she could see why Jason looked like a kid in a candy store. Kimberly Hart was the woman sitting at the table. She could see her dazzling smile as she laughed at something Zack said before he sauntered back behind the counter. 

“Hey Crazy Girl,” Zack said excitedly, “See that chick over there? I think she’s totally into me. I’m going to try and get her number.” 

It was in that moment that Trini had a terrible horrible hilarious idea. She turned towards Jason mirroring his look of pure amusement and glee. This was going to end beautifully. Kim caught her gaze and shot her a little wave, the corner up her lips quirking up on one side. 

“See, did you see that?” Zack whispered excitedly holding his hand out for a high five. 

“Dude, take your 15 and go talk to her,” Jason encouraged with a smirk. 

“Yeah, yeah, good plan,” Zack mumbled, “Thanks Bossman.”

Trini pulled out her phone to alert Kim of the situation before Jason saw the name in her messenger and shook his head.

“Do not ruin this for me,” Jason grumbled, “Kim gets crazy embarrassed when people hit on her and always comes up with the most ridiculous ways out of it.”

Trini nodded slipping her phone back in her pocket. She had to admit she felt a little guilty not telling Kim what was going on, but if scheming with Jason got her even a little bit in his good graces she would take it. He was Kim’s best friend after all. She needed the best friend seal of approval. 

“I’m flattered, but she’s a little more my type,” the two heard Kim say from where they were eavesdropping and pretending to be hard at work. 

“Oh sweetie honey child,” Zack responded with a voice full of sympathy obviously not too put out over being turned down, “You don’t have a chance in hell. Crazy Girl over there, my best friend since we were four, and she is like super whipped for this girl Kim.”

Trini’s eyes widened. This was not how this was supposed to go. She turned her gaze towards Jason with panicked eyes as if to convey the message radiating from her mind. Abort! Abort! Sadly, they did not appear to have any sort of telepathic link and Jason just looked giddy, not seeming to care that Kim didn’t react how he wanted. Because this backfiring for Trini was just as amusing to watch. 

“Oh is she now?” Kim asked with a raised eyebrow, “What’s so special about this Kim girl? They can’t have been dating for too long if she hasn’t even met the best friend yet?”

“Second date is tomorrow, but trust me, like, you’re super hot and everything, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen my girl such a gay mess over a girl before. I mean, the first time they met I swear she was spouting soliloquies about this girl’s eyes for days,” Zack replied with a laugh. 

By this point Trini’s face is beet red, her mouth hung open in horror. It was like watching a trainwreck happen in slow motion. Her brain was wracking ideas on how to stop this. Maybe if she glared at the back of Zack’s head as hard as she could he would momentarily become mute. As she watched her best friend and Kim laugh together she realized she has no such luck. Jason had altogether stopped watching the other two and focused his efforts into watching her as laughter shook his shoulders. 

Kim seemed to soften a bit at Zack’s words. She was so smitten by the smaller woman, so it was nice to hear that she seemed to be just as taken by her. 

“Yeah, well, Trini is kind of an amazing doofus,” Kim stated with a tender smile before holding out her hand, “Kimberly Hart. Nice to officially meet you. She talks about you all the time.”

Realization dawned of Zack’s face as he finally understood who he was talking to before he busted out laughing. 

“Trini!” He shouted through his cackling, “Why the hell did you encourage me to hit on your girlfriend?”

“Jason thought it would be funny,” she yelled looking like a deer in the headlights as three sets of eyes turned to her.

“Still was,” Jason chuckled, “Just not for you.”

The other three broke out into giggles as Zack and Kim approached where her and Jason were standing at the counter. Trini wished more than anything that she was wearing her beanie so she could pull it down over her face. 

“You were definitely right though T, she is gorgeous.” Zack said with a wink. 

This wasn’t really how she pictured her best friend and her, well, her Kim meeting, but they seemed to be getting along well enough. And as Jason clapped his hand on her back it feels like something close to approval.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it. Feel free to leave kudos, comments, or criticisms. =)


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